The present invention relates to installation devices, specifically devices for installing self-drilling wall anchors.
For several decades it has been common practice in the construction industry to use wall board, a material commonly referred to in the construction industry as drywall, as a building material in the construction of interior walls of commercial and residential buildings.
Due to the composition of drywall, when hanging an object on a wall made of drywall, one should use a drywall anchor or risk damaging the wall or the object being hung thereon.
Self-drilling drywall anchors are a common type of drywall anchor used in the home improvement industry. Self-drilling drywall anchors typically consist of a substantially cone shaped, open ended, threaded anchor configured to receive an anchor screw (the “anchor”) and an anchor screw. It is customary that the outer portion of the anchor includes a plurality of sharp protrusions for enhancing the gripping of the anchor to the drywall.
When installing a drywall anchor, first the anchor is driven into a wall and then the anchor screw is driven into the anchor. In doing so, the anchor is contorted as the screw is driven therein. It has become the industry standard for both the open end of the anchor and the head of the anchor screw of the self-drilling drywall anchor to be configured with a cross shaped indentation, commonly referred to as a Philips head. Anchors and the corresponding anchor screws are manufactured in varying sizes depending on the need of the user.
In order to drive the anchor into the wall using conventional means, one must ensure that the anchor remains in contact with the driver device with one hand while rotating the anchor with the other hand, using a driving device, usually an electric driving device.
It is imperative that the anchor is driven perpendicularly into the wall, as the angle the anchor is driven into the wall ultimately determines the angle that the anchor screw will be driven into the wall.
It is equally important that the anchor does not slip off the driving device or wobble as the driving device is driving the anchor into the wall. In the event that the anchor slips off the driving device, the wall may be damaged. In the event that the anchor wobbles about the driving device, while the anchor is being driven into the wall, the anchor may not be driven perpendicularly into the wall or may expand the hole in the wall larger than intended; both instances could compromise the holding capacity of anchor.
The only place of contact for conventional screw driving devices to engage the anchor, when driving the anchor into the wall, is at the anchors open end. As such, in order to ensure that the anchor is driven perpendicularly into the wall, the user must use the fingers of the non driving hand or other guiding means, to ensure that the anchor (1) remains perpendicular to the wall, (2) does not slip off the driving device, and (3) does not wobble about the axis of the driving device.
In doing the above, the user risks injury to his fingers from the sharp protrusions of the rotating anchor. Furthermore, using conventional driving devices, the user risks the driving means slipping from the anchor, thereby damaging the wall or potentially injuring the user.
At the very least, when using a conventional driving device, it is likely that the anchor will wobble, thereby driving the anchor into the wall at an angle, resulting in a non-perpendicular wall mount.
The present invention was invented to address the foregoing problems. Specifically, a drywall anchor installation device comprising, inter alia, a main driver member, a plunger member, and a plunger member guiding mechanism. One end of the main driver member is configured to engage a drywall anchor with a Philips head screw top. The body of the main driver member is hollow and houses the plunger member. One end of the plunger member is configured to engage a standard Philips head screw having a head smaller than the head of the drywall anchor engaged by the main driver member.
In operation, the main driver member engages the open end of the anchor at the Philips head indentation and the plunger member extends inside the axial bore of the anchor until contacting the interior surface or the closed end of the anchor. Once contact is made with the interior surface or the closed end of the anchor, the compression spring of the plunger guiding mechanism is engaged, stabilizing the anchor and minimizing the likelihood of the anchor slipping or wobbling about the main driver member when the anchor is driven into a wall. Once the anchor is driven into the wall, the end of the plunger member configured to engage a standard Philips head screw is used to drive the anchor screw into the anchor without having to adjust the driving device.
One of the key features of the device is that the engaging means of the device, i.e. the main driver member and the plunger member, combine to contact the anchor at multiple contact points. By engaging the anchor's Philips head indentations with the main driver member while contacting the interior surface of the axial bore with the plunger member, the anchor is securely engaged to the device and the likelihood that the anchor will slip off the device or wobble about the device is greatly reduced.
An objective of the present invention is to provide a drywall anchor installation device that does not require the use of both hands when driving a drywall anchor into drywall.
Another objective of the present invention is to provide a drywall anchor installation device that engages a drywall anchor at multiple contact points of the drywall anchor.
Another objective of the present invention is to provide a drywall anchor installation device that minimizes the likelihood that a driving device will slip off an anchor when driving the anchor into drywall.
Another objective of the present invention is to provide a drywall anchor installation device that minimizes the likelihood that a driving device will wobble about the driving device when driving the anchor into drywall.
Another objective of the present invention is to provide a drywall anchor installation device that minimizes the risk of injury when driving the anchor into drywall.
Yet, a further objective of the present invention is to provide a drywall anchor installation device that minimizes the likelihood of damaging the wall when driving the anchor into drywall.
Attempts to address the problems relating to conventional fasteners can be found in Matsushima, U.S. Pat. No. 4,060,114; Han, U.S. Pat. No. 5,791,212; Han, U.S. Pat. No. 6,082,233; Takahashi, U.S. Pat. No. 6,209,426; and Bond et al, U.S. Pat. No. 4,447,923. However, each of the references is directed to conventional fastening means and attempts to address the problems relating to conventional fasteners using a sleeve member or magnetic component. Each of the references teaches a device that engages a fastener at a single contact point. Furthermore, each of the references fails to address the unique characteristics and problems associated with self-drilling drywall anchors, i.e. that a drywall anchor has a contact point at its open end and a hollow substantially cone shaped body that easily wobbles when rotated.
For the foregoing reasons there exists a need for a drywall anchor installation device comprising, inter alia, a main driver member and a plunger member and a plunger member guiding mechanism.